Future Growth

Under the auspices of Dean Eric J. Barron, the Jackson School is set to embark on ambitious plans for new growth.

The process began with the Jackson School Vision Committee, a group of national geoscience leaders commissioned to offer suggestions for the school. The committee recommended separation from the College of Natural Sciences under the leadership of a Jackson School dean. The new dean should reorganize “the school to integrate effectively the academic and research functions” and realize the promise of the Jackson gift.

The committee stated that one imperative was hiring new faculty who could work across the school’s units. Hires in 2005 and 2006 have started to realize this vision. Charles Kerans, a distinguished researcher at the Bureau, is now a chaired professor in the Department of Geological Sciences. Charles Groat, former director of USGS, was hired as a chaired professor in the Department and head of two interdisciplinary research units. Omar Ghattas, a renowned computational geoscientist, was hired with a chair in the Department, a research professorship in the Institute, and appointments to three other campus units. The Bureau and Institute are also aggressively hiring new researchers.

While exciting, these hires are just the start of a major enterprise awaiting the next dean.

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